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Environment and Ecology (Importance of different ecosystems and conservation efforts) by Rajvardhan

  • Category
    GS -III
  • Test Date
    19-05-2023 07:00 AM
  • Evaluated
    Yes

Instruction:

  • There will be 2 questions carrying 10 marks each. Write your answers in 150 words
  • Any page left blank in the answer-book must be crossed out clearly.
  • Evaluated Copy will be re-uploaded on the same thread after 2 days of uploading the copy.
  • Discussion of the question and one to one answer improvement session of evaluated copies will be conducted through Google Meet with concerned faculty. You will be informed via mail or SMS for the discussion.

Question #1. Not many years ago, river linking was a concept but it is becoming a reality in the country. Discuss the advantages of river linking & its possible impact on the environment?

Question #2. Oil spills after result in immediate & long term environmental damage that can last for decades. Discuss the impact of oil spill on marine ecosystem. What are various measures to contain pollution from oil spill?

(Examiner will pay special attention to the candidate's grasp of his/her material, its relevance to the subject chosen, and to his/ her ability to think constructively and to present his/her ideas concisely, logically and effectively).

Model Answer

Question #1. Not many years ago, river linking was a concept but it is becoming a reality in the country. Discuss the advantages of river linking & its possible impact on the environment?

Ans. : River linking project : It envisages the transfer of water from water surplus basins where there is flooding to water deficit basins, where there is water scarcity.

It links rivers by a n/w of reservoirs & canals of water redistribution.

Reality : Polavaram project Godavari-Krishna

Ken-Betwa Project

Proposed : Connecting the Ganga & Mahanadi Basin

Connecting the tributaries of the Ganga with the Sabarmati & Chambal.

Advantage :

  1. Flood mitigation & drought proofing
  2. Hydroelectricity -34GW potential.
  3. Drinking water problem reduce
  4. Supply water to industries in drought prone & water scarce cities.
  5. Additional irrigation – upto 35 mha in  western & peninsular regions.

Employment increase

Crop production increase – farming income increase

  1. Navigation
  2. Fisheries

Possible environment impact

  1. Change in hydrological regime of river
    Impact on biodiversity, ecological imbalance.
  2. Deforestation – for construction canals, 
  3. Rehabilitation issues
  4. Submerge
  5. Reduce in quality of fresh water entering  sea that lead to threat marine eco-system

    Question #2. Oil spills after result in immediate & long term environmental damage that can last for decades. Discuss the impact of oil spill on marine ecosystem. What are various measures to contain pollution from oil spill?

    What is oil spill? – release of petroleum products into the environment (ocean, sea) – dew to human activity.

    A from of pollutions

    Impact

    Food production decrease

    Some zooplanktons – ingest oil droplets leading to mortality/abnormalities.

    Fishes – kills

    Kill fish eggs : 

    It lead to economic impact and livelihood impact

    Benthic Organisms – accumulation of contamination 

    Coral reef

    Birds – oil affects feathers of birds – reduce there insulating ability & make than more vulnerable to temperature fluctuation. 

    Marine mammals – Physical contact of oil with furred mammals usually effect these animals. 

    Measure to contain

    1.Physical recovery – arresting its spread and then using vaccume suckers to remove the oil.

    2. Bioremediation – oil eating bacteria

      1. Sulfate reducing bacteria
      2. Acid reducing bacteria
      3. General aerobic bacteria
      4. Alcanivorax or methylocella silvestris

    3. Controlled burning (in low wind conduction)

    4. Use of dispersants – oil floats because of high surface tension
    Dispersants reduce the surface tension oil and water – oil can dilute & settle on ocean floor
    But this is harmful as dispersants increase the hydrocarbon levels.

    5. Solidifying – Solidifying change state of oil from liquid to solid, semi solid or rubber like

    These measures can help us remove oil from marine ecosystem but emphasis should be on prevention of oil spills event for which the roll of shipping industry and oil companies carrying out offshore drilling is important.

    Procedure of Answer Writing:

    To participate in the answer writing program, Register yourself for the test. Copies will be evaluated only for the registered students. Registration will be closed after the scheduled date.

    Answer Writing, Copy Evaluation, and Marks Improvement Cycle:

    Step 1 (Theme, Details & Its Topics):

    1. Every round of Answer writing initiative will be around a theme related to the Subject/Topic.
    2. Please read the theme and its description, and try to cover the topics given within the theme before writing the answer along with the sources.

    Step 2 (Answer Writing):

    1. Questions will be uploaded on the portal on the scheduled date at 7:00 AM.
    2. You have to write your answers on an A4 size sheet leaving margins on both sides based on the UPSC pattern.
    3. Mention your name, email id, location, and phone number on the 1st page in the top right corner and the page number on each page.
    4. After writing the answers, Click pictures of each page of your answer sheet, merge them all in a single PDF and upload them in the upload section of the same question.
    5. Kindly submit your written answers before 7:00 PM. Only the first 100 copies will be considered for evaluation. No request for late submission or evaluation will be entertained once the 100 mark is reached.

    Note: Answer sheets without the proper guidelines given above will not be accepted for evaluation.

    Step 3 (Copy Evaluation): Copies will be evaluated in the next 72 hours of the test date. After evaluation, copies will be uploaded into your account. During the copy evaluation period, doubt clearing and discussion about the theme or topic of the test with respective mentors of the test will be done in the telegram group

    Step 4 (Mentorship): Evaluated copies will be sent to you via mail and also uploaded into your account on the website. After that a mentorship session for the marks improvement with respective faculty will be conducted on the Google Meet, so that students can get a wider perspective of the topics. Here you can discuss your evaluated copies also with the faculty. Top 5 copies of every test will be shared in the telegram group for reference.

    Note: Aspirants who have not written the test can also participate in the mentorship session.

    For Updates and Mentorship of the session, you will be notified through SMS or Telegram Group.

    For Notification And Update About the Program Join Telegram Group at: https://t.me/gsscoreopendailyanswerwriting

    Note: You have to write your answers on an A4 size sheet leaving margins on both sides based on UPSC pattern. Mention Your Name on 1st page and Page Number on each page. After writing the answer, Click pictures of each page of your answer sheet, merge them all in a single PDF and upload in the Your Answer Copy section of the same question.

    Copy submission is closed now for this test.

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